Rights and ROTC

To the editors:

I have great respect for John Bash and for the military, but this doesn’t change the fact that both of them are wrong. Bash’s call to “Bring Back ROTC Now” (Opinion, Oct. 15) seriously mischaracterizes the costs and benefits of the “tradeoffs” he advocates.

True, Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) cadets are inconvenienced by their call to service—but compromising Harvard’s defense of equal opportunity is not the answer. If anything, Bash’s article is a reminder that we should all be stronger advocates for an inclusive and effective military that doesn’t force us to choose between defending civil rights...and defending civil rights.

Albert H. Cho ’02

Oct. 15, 2001